01-17-2011
• 9news, Denver
One of the nation's biggest banks, JP Morgan Chase, admits it has overcharged several thousand military families for their mortgages, including families of troops fighting in Afghanistan. The bank also says it improperly foreclosed on more than a dozen homes belonging to military families.
One of the families affected is the Rowles.
Julia Rowles and Marine Capt. Jonathan Rowles, an F-18 pilot conducting missions in Asia, talk over Skype. They always talk about their two children and about Chase.
"It's been a nightmare. It's been my living nightmare," Julia Rowles said.
Their saga began in 2006 when Capt. Rowles went on active duty. By law, active duty troops generally get their mortgage interest rates lowered to 6 percent and they are protected from foreclosure.
But Chase took months to lower Rowles' rate, initially overcharging the family, they say, by as much as $900 a month.
Then, two years ago, they say Chase began hitting them with collection calls, which es